IPOC challenges project approval

The Islandside Property Owners Coalition LLC, along with The Sanctuary at Longboat Key LLC and L’Ambiance at Longboat Key Club Condominium Association, filed its challenge to the Islandside renovation-and-expansion project in Sarasota County Clerk of the Circuit Court Friday, July 30.

IPOC attorney Michael Furen filed a declaratory judgment Friday, seeking a de novo hearing, which allows his client to challenge the ordinance approving the Islandside outline development plan amendment and claim it’s inconsistent with the town’s Comprehensive Plan.

IPOC is asking for a new hearing that would require new testimony and evidence to be entered into the record for a Sarasota County Clerk of Circuit Court judge to review.

A de novo hearing allows the court to make a new decision in a matter under appeal and does not rely solely on the record the Town Commission used to make its decision for approving the Islandside renovation-and-expansion project.

Both The Longboat Key Club and Resort and the town of Longboat Key are listed as defendants in the filing.

If a judge finds that the project, as approved, is not consistent with the town’s Comprehensive Plan, the town has the right to amend its Comprehensive Plan.

The appeal, which could take up to two years, is expected to delay the phasing schedule currently in place for the $400 million Islandside project.

IPO President Bob White said the filing should come as no surprise.

“We have indicated for some time we felt what the town approved was inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan,” White said. “We feel we have a very strong argument.”

Key Club General Manager Michael Welly, meanwhile, called the filing disappointing.

“It’s disappointing IPOC is continuing to ignore the will of the community at large,” Welly said. “They (IPOC) can continue to file suits until they are blue in the face. We have our legal team in place and are prepared to defend both the position of the club and the town of Longboat Key for as long as we have to.”

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].